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1 – 4 of 4Helen Poltimäe, Kärt Rõigas and Anneli Lorenz
The purpose of this paper is to identify how different factors of antecedents and processes affect the outcomes of an internship, measured in terms of competency development.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify how different factors of antecedents and processes affect the outcomes of an internship, measured in terms of competency development.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used an internship questionnaire designed for the University of Tartu in Estonia. Responses were obtained from 178 students across different disciplines – humanities and the arts, social sciences, natural sciences and medicine – who had recently taken an internship. Based on current academic literature, the authors create a three-level model: antecedents-processes-outcomes. The antecedents and processes were both differentiated into three factors and tested with a structural equation model.
Findings
The model demonstrates that there are different antecedents that have an effect on internship outcomes, but these only work through internship processes. For example, the objective of the internship and clarity of instructions will only have a positive effect if there is relevant support from the supervisor at the employing company and if the student can use the knowledge and skills gained at university.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on survey data filled in by students, i.e. based on self-perception. Based on the results of the study, the authors claim that an active role and initiative-taking by students in finding suitable internships should be further encouraged.
Originality/value
Whilst previous studies have used a two-level model of internship (or a three-level model for students satisfaction as an outcome) the authors create and test a three-level model measuring competency development as the outcome of an internship.
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Anne Aidla, Helen Poltimäe, Kärt Rõigas, Eneli Kindsiko and Els Maria Metsmaa
The purpose of this study is to analyse perceived physical and social isolation and how they are linked in various places of work.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse perceived physical and social isolation and how they are linked in various places of work.
Design/methodology/approach
A nationwide study was conducted involving 3,352 Estonian office workers in spring 2021. Physical isolation was measured in terms of what proportion of time a person works away from co-workers (0%, 1%–25%, 26%–50%, 51%–75%, more than 75%). Social isolation diverged into two factors: lack of contacts and lack of meaningful connections. The different places of work the authors considered in the study included working from home with and without a dedicated room and different types of offices (private office, shared-cell office, activity-based office and open-plan offices of various sizes).
Findings
The results show that the negative consequences of physical isolation in the form of perceiving social isolation start to show when a person works 51% of the time or more away from others. However, the authors revealed the dual nature of social isolation in that when a person experiences a lack of contacts, the connections they do have with their colleagues are actually more meaningful.
Originality/value
The originality of the study comes from the fact that the authors uncovered the paradoxical nature of social isolation. This reveals itself in various places of work depending on the conditions at home and the type of office. Therefore, the authors move away from the simplified distinction of home vs office and take into account the level of physical isolation (what amount of time a person actually works away from colleagues).
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Anne Reino, Kärt Rõigas and Merily Müürsepp
This paper elaborates on connections between organisational culture (OC) and financial performance in production and service companies in Estonia.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper elaborates on connections between organisational culture (OC) and financial performance in production and service companies in Estonia.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study analyses the organisational culture of 19 SMEs and large service and production companies with 2,256 respondents. The questionnaire based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF) was used to map organisational culture. Six different performance indicators from annual reports in the Estonian Business Register database were used over a four-year period. A confirmatory factor analysis and non-parametric Spearman rank correlation were applied in the study.
Findings
The authors found that OC types are connected to each other and theoretical opposites in the CVF are not mutually exclusive. Strong correlations exit between Clan and Adhocracy cultures, also confirmed by previous studies. Surprisingly, Market and Hierarchy types correlated more strongly in our sample compared to previous studies. As expected, Clan–Adhocracy and Market types exhibited a strong positive correlation with financial indicators, but contrary to the authors’ hypothesis, the Hierarchy type also had positive connections to performance indicators. The Market culture was only significantly related to performance in years when the Hierarchy type was also positively correlated with performance. Correlations that were positive in some years under investigation became insignificant in other years.
Originality/value
First, The authors use multiple objective financial performance indicators to reveal relationships between OC and performance. Second, this study did not only rely on the managers' opinion of OC, but the sample also consists of respondents from all levels of the organisational hierarchy. Third, the authors expand on existing research into the link between OC and performance by exploring a country from the former Soviet Union (FSU), where the number of similar studies is low, but where the specific context has an impact on connections between OC and financial performance of the firms.
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Jaan Masso, Raul Eamets and Pille Mõtsmees
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of temporary migration on the upward occupational mobility by using a novel database from Estonia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of temporary migration on the upward occupational mobility by using a novel database from Estonia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a unique data set of the online job search portal of Estonia that includes thousands of employees with foreign work experience. The authors study whether the presence of temporary migration in ones working career is associated with upward movement in the occupational ladder, defined either in terms of wages or required human capital.
Findings
The authors did not find any positive effect of temporary migration on upward occupational mobility and in case of females the effect was negative. The results could be related to the short-term nature of migration and the occupational downshifting abroad as well as the functioning of home country labour market.
Research limitations/implications
While the uniqueness of the data set is of value, one needs to acknowledge its weaknesses: the job-seekers work histories are self-reported and the authors do not know what information was left out as undesired by applicant.
Practical implications
The findings imply that the benefits of temporary migration from Eastern to Western Europe on the sending country via the returnees’ labour market performance might be limited, yet it does not exclude the benefits of return migration through other mechanism.
Originality/value
The literature on return migration is not big and there are only a few papers dealing with occupational change or mobility of the return migrants. Compared to earlier studies we have looked at wider set of occupations ranked by different ladders. Using the unique data set the authors have included in the study ca 7,500 return migrants while earlier studies have been based on rather small samples.
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